Battles - Titanium 2 Step ft. Sal Principato

What this video is

Released August 2019 as the lead single from Battles' fourth album 'Juice B Crypts' (Warp Records, October 18, 2019), the track and video arrive at a moment when Battles had reconfigured as a duo — Ian Williams and John Stanier — following bassist Dave Konopka's 2018 departure. The collaboration with Sal Principato of early-80s NYC no-wave/dance-punk band Liquid Liquid explicitly bridges the post-punk underground…

Why it matters

A landmark of the 2010s math-rock/avant-rock video canon, 'Titanium 2 Step' exemplifies the genre's increasing alignment with abstract animation rather than performance or narrative video. The hyper-edited visual language (0.375s avg shot length) functions as a direct visual analogue to Battles'…

The director

Tokyo-based self-taught director, animator, and illustrator. Graduated Momoyama High School 2006 and taught himself animation independently. Known for fluid, metamorphic animation style. Credits include stop-motion short 'Land' (2013, screened at REDCAT…